Customer Reviews

Dead and Kicking (Ghost Dusters Mysteries, No. 3)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a big fan of Ms Roberts two previous books in the Ghost Dusters Mystery series, but was disappointed in this one. The mood through the entire book was dark with little, if any, lightness. Sadie was angry, irritable, impulsive, and unreasonable toward everyone. She grumbled over everything and everyone. I realize that death of a family member affects people differently, but her main character was not as charming in this book. I was happy to see the return of characters from past books, and that made the read more enjoyable. The ending seemed abrupt, and while various issues were resolved in points one (check), two (check), and three (check) fashion,.... there was a still a feeling of huh? That's it?
I've donated the previous book copies to my local library for community sharing, but feel uncomfortable donating this one. Overall, it just felt too much heaviness, and the rushed ending wasn't satisfying enough to leave me feeling glad I chose it over some other books.

I loved the last two books in this series & I love this one too, but I'd be lying if I said that it didn't irritate me a little bit. Why? Well, I can't go into that without giving away mondo spoilers, but I'll try my hardest to explain.

This book picks up about a year after the end of the previous book. Zack & Sadie have moved in together, but over the last few months they've been drifting apart. Sadie's dad just passed & she's been seeing his ghost at his house. If that's not enough, Zack's talking to an ex-girlfriend (who obviously still has the hots for him). When Sadie agrees to help clean out said ex's mother's house (the woman was a hoarder), Zack gets injured by a malice-filled ghost & Sadie discovers the corpse of a mummified baby...

(The following may be considered spoilers.)

Where do I start with this book? First off, there's a new love interest introduced in this book. How do they introduce this character? By semi-assassinating the character of Zack Bowman. I say semi-assassinating because while Zack spends much of the book being a jerk, there is enough of a buildup to explain why he acts this way. It's just that honestly it all felt a little forced. It also doesn't help that the new love interest just isn't that interesting & his interactions with Sophie feels a little stiff & un-organic as well. I won't deny that I'm a little irritated that Roberts is introducing a love interest after seemingly wrapping up the "will they or won't they" plot point in the previous book, but I just didn't feel any real sparks between them. (And besides, I would have actually imagined Petrovich to be a better suited love interest for her- there are sparks between the two of them!) It also doesn't help that the plot point that introduced the two of them (a murder scene cleanup in a elementary school) felt really rough & unfinished. I can't help but wonder if Roberts' publishing company leaned on her to add a second love interest for Sadie- after all, such things aren't unheard of in the publishing world. (Patricia Briggs was pressured by her publishers to draw out the love triangle in her books.)

Now what did I like about the book? I loved the amount of detail that Roberts puts in about the crime scene cleanup business & I loved the character of Maeve- she's honestly one of my favorite characters for the series. The suspense in this book was nicely done & as always, Roberts does a very good job at writing. It's just that this book didn't seem to "pop" like the other two books did.

I will continue to buy & read Roberts' stuff as well as continue to recommend it to people, but I can't help but worry a little bit about the future of the series. This isn't a deal breaker, but one of the things I loved about Roberts' series was that the romance didn't seem like a big thing- that the mystery & ghost stuff were the main parts of the books. I guess all I can do is wait & watch.

EDIT:

I had to go back & lower the star rating from 4 stars to 3 stars. The more I thought about it, the more I got irritated by this book. While one or two plot points are dealt with for the most part, a lot of things take a huge jump backwards. I got frustrated because I figured, why put the two of them together in the last book if you are just going to break them up in this one?

I'll still buy the next book when it comes out, but if it's like this one then I'll have to just check these out from the library or read them at work instead.

In Seattle Sadie Novak owns Scene-2-Clean, a firm that cleans up crime scenes. She also is a medium who communicates with the dead. Her job is to help the deceased pass on by removing whatever makes then cling to the earth.

Most spirits she meets are not evil or even hostile, but Sadie and her lover-co-owner of the business Zack are cleaning out the apartment of his former girlfriend Paula's mother when they run into a malevolent ghost who refuses to allow them to enter "his" room. Running out of the place Zack breaks a bone in his foot. A recovering addict, he is not supposed to take drugs, but he does anyway as he moves into Paula's house to heal. Trying to forget Zack's betrayal for the moment, Sadie throws herself into her work and soon finds a mummified baby in one of the boxes. .The remains could be part of a lot Paula's mom bought at a yard sale or flea market or perhaps it something sinister that happened inside the house. Someone is trying to scare Sadie away; but that fails as she keeps cleaning and exploring while the threats turn increasingly violent.

This is an exciting paranormal amateur sleuth starring an audacious courageous psychic who does not fear mortal murders having met malevolent spirits. Sadie's father recently died and though he cannot quite fully materialize she selfishly wants to spend quality time with him before he moves on. The whodunit is cleverly devised to keep the audience absorbed with several delightful solid and ephemeral subplots as Wendy Roberts provides another witty breezy Ghost Dusters Mystery (see The Remains of the Dead).

Harriet Klausner

Sadie cleans up crime scenes & an added bonus she can talk to the dead. Sadie has slowly accepted that she can talk to the dead - but she doesn't tell a lot of people including her parents. When her father dies she doesn't want to help him cross over and that leads to some very interesting emotions. The big clean-up in this book is a hoarder's home of her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. The ghost at the house doesn't want anything to leave and is very violent. Another Excellent book in this series - now I have to wait till next Christmas for another book - some wait for Santa I wait for another Wendy Roberts book.

If you enjoy this genre I would also suggest; Truly, Madly: A Novel , The Remains of the Dead (Ghost Dusters Mysteries, No. 1), Devil May Ride (Ghost Dusters Mysteries, No. 2) and Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye (Psychic Eye Mysteries, Book 1)

First Line: The cemetery smelled of freshly mowed grass.

Sadie Novack's brother committed suicide. It was several days before his body was found. The grieving Sadie had to clean his apartment. Vowing that no other family would have to do that while she had anything to say about it, Sadie quit her job and went into business for herself cleaning crime scenes. Along the way she discovered that she has another talent: she can see the dead and help them come to terms with what's happened.

Right now Sadie is going through a rough patch. Her father has died and doesn't show any signs of wanting to move on. Her boyfriend, Zack, is spending a lot of time with a former girlfriend, and Sadie is trying to take care of jobs for a second cleaning company while its owner is out of town on business. In the midst of all this, she finds herself shoveling out the house of a hoarder, and there's a very angry ghost trying to keep Sadie off the second floor. There seems to be something buried under all the trash that's worth killing for.

I enjoy this series, and this was another good entry. Although the crime scene clean-up can be a bit stomach turning from time to time, I still find those scenes interesting, but it's Sadie that makes me come back for each new installment. She's a very real character, and while I'm reading about her, I can run through so many different emotions: sadness, compassion, irritation, confusion, rage, and laugh-out-loud humor. I don't like a lot of "woo woo" in my reading, but the paranormal scenes where Sadie deals with ghosts are very well done and don't overload any of the circuits in my fuse box.

If you enjoy reading Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly series, you should enjoy this series as well. I do.

I could not put it down. I kept reading to find out what would happen next. Will she take him back? Will she go with PBF? Who is threatening her? So many questions. I also liked the ending. I would love to read more in this series to read on about what happens between Sadie and Zack and what other incidents Sadie may come across as a trauma cleaner.

I really enjoyed the earlier 2 books in the series. Although I did like this one, it just wasn't up to par as the others. Read the other 2 first and if this one is on sale go for it.

Love the series and am so glad that you had the 3rd book. Great shape and such a quick delivery. Haven't read it yet but am looking forward to it.

Zack and Sadie are called to clean up crime scenes. Sadie has seen Zack become more withdrawn lately and follows him to a house, who she learns Zack is cleaning but is a old flame.
Sadie starts to help but a very aggressive ghost hurts Zack and puts his ankle out of commission. Strange things start to happen, and one of the boxes tumble down the stairs to reveal a old corpse of a infant child.
Sadie has to call in the police and they start investigating.
Sadie keeps getting attacked and Zack has moved out to live with his former girlfriend, wo be "cared" for as he's healing. Sadie suspects he is using pain medications again and finds out she is correct.
A old mystery starts to get uncovered and Sadie finds herself in danger once again.

This is the third book in this paranormal series.

Sadie Novak can see and talk to ghosts. Her company, 'Scene-to-Clean', cleans up after messy murders or deaths or anyplace where there's a gory mess no one else wants to tackle. She helps the ghosts 'go over' to wherever they are going!

Her father has died, but his ghost is still here. He doesn't realize he's a ghost and denies that he's dead until he looks into a mirror and sees no reflection.

Her partner and lover, Zack, has been evasive, and she sees him going in the wrong direction to get to where he said he was going, follows him, and discovers that he has taken on the job of cleaning his ex-lover's, (Paula), mother's house.

She had been a hoarder, and it is stacked with boxes to the ceiling. Sadie agrees that it is a big job and she will help. When she goes upstairs, she encounters a very ugly and angry ghost who screams at her and tells her that this is his stuff, and they can't have it. Sadie tells Zack not to go into the bedrooms upstairs as unlike most ghosts, this ghost is capable of handling things, and when they continue working, he throws boxes at them. Zack gets his ankle broken. As they are leaving to go to the hospital, one of the crates splits open, and a mummified baby falls out.

This brings in the police, who decide to take all the stuff to a warehouse and go through them. The ghost then attacks them as they take over the cleaning! Sadie has a friend who is psychic who has friends who can set up 'safe circles'. Sadie has this done, but the circle is only downstairs. When the police have cleared out the downstairs and want to go upstairs, they start wearing helmets and body armor.

She finally identifies the ghost, and is surprised to discover that it is a man who had murdered two girls and committed suicide. As she can't see or hear a suicide's ghost, she realizes that he was murdered! (This has not made him anymore pleasant.)

In the meantime, she talks to her father's ghost and feels guilty that he is still here. Her mother doesn't know about her talent, and thinks that Sadie is nuts!

The story ends with a real twist, and is great. I also recommend the first two books, which have many of the same characters. They are #1, 'The Remains of the Dead', and #2, 'Devil May Ride'.